We would like to make you aware of the choices available to you based on the results of your child’s school on the 2017-2018 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and/or Keystone Exams. The PSSA and Keystones are annual exams given to Pennsylvania students at various grade levels to measure their academic progress.

The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program (OSTCP) was created pursuant to Act 85 of 2012 (72 P.S. § 1701-G.1, et seq) and amended by Act 86 of 2016 (24 P.S. § 2001-B, et seq). This program enables eligible students residing within the boundaries of low-achieving schools to apply for a scholarship to attend another public or nonpublic school. A low achieving school is defined as a public elementary or secondary school ranking in the bottom 15% of their designation as elementary of secondary school based on the combined math and reading scores on the previous school year PSSA.

Grace S. Beck Elementary is on the list of the bottom 15% for performance on the combined Math and Reading tests on the 2017-2018 PSSA and/or Keystone exams.

Under the OSTCP program, Grace S. Beck Elementary must offer students the choice to transfer to another school district or nonpublic school. Please know that the staff at Grace S. Beck Elementary has a relationship with your child and wants to continue serving your child. However, if you feel your child will be better served in another school, you may request a transfer for your child to one of the schools participating in the OSTCP.

If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity for your child to attend another school, you must go to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) website www.newpa.com/ostc to review the list of scholarship organizations for the school districts and nonpublic schools that are participating in this program. DCED has information regarding the application process. Scholarships are contingent upon available funding.

Additional information is available on our school district website www.shikbraves.org and the